Chapter 14
Fourteen
I awoke, disoriented and confused. Where was I? I sat up in the plush bedspread, trying to place myself. When I saw my Evergarden sketches on the wall it all came flooding back to me.
Alfie…
The soft October sun shone through the window, telling me I’d slept most of the day away.
I blinked sleep out of my eyes and checked my phone.
I found a brief “K” from Keira in response to the text I’d sent telling her where I was, which told me she hadn’t been so drunk last night that she’d forgotten to check in with me before she passed out.
Or that she was so angry with me for going to Alfie’s house that she was saving the blow up for when I got home. I was hoping for the former.
I looked around myself for a moment, unsure what my next move should be.
How the hell had I ended up here? I had been so determined to keep Alfie at a distance but last night.
..nothing could have prepared me for last night.
He had cracked himself open and allowed me to walk right in, and what I’d found inside had been worse than I could have imagined.
I tried to process everything I had learned but I couldn’t, what Alfie had done was too much to comprehend so quickly. I resigned myself to the long haul. This wasn’t gonna settle in my mind overnight. But...now what?
I looked around the room, at the detail, the thought that had gone into it.
He had done this for me without knowing if I would ever set foot in it.
.. but did it matter? I steeled myself against the emotions that stirred inside.
Alfie could make grand gestures easily, he could always get it right when he wanted to.
I'd never doubted his feelings for me. That wasn’t the problem.
Manipulation and lies was the problem, and knowing how deep his propensity was for both had me looking at the room differently. Had me wondering if this was just a ploy. Lull me into a false sense of security and then BAM , mental mind fuck all over again.
Besides that, the room on its own had me feeling uneasy now that I was seeing it in the clear light of day. This wasn’t normal. It was supposed to be romantic and thoughtful, but this level of obsession was so deeply unhealthy.
Sick of my spinning mind, I got out of bed. First stop, bathroom. There were two doors leading off the room, one I discovered was a walk-in closet and dressing room, the second a parisian-esque bathroom with light gold finishings and a slipper tub. It was pretty and warm.
Of course, my products were already in there.
Shampoo, conditioner, my favourite body wash.
My makeup too, right down to the shade. This behaviour had unnerved me once but I knew Alfie so well now.
He was a man of details. He paid attention to every part of me and the scared part of me wished he would stop.
It made me feel too special. Like I mattered.
Like I was going to get hurt again if I let him in.
I showered and fixed myself up before returning to the closet. Once, I would have balked at the idea of taking any gift from Alfie. Now, we were way past that. Taking an outfit changed nothing when he was already a part of my being.
I prepared myself for an extravagant closet, for the vast array of Prada and Chanel that I was sure would be waiting.
But opening the closet door, I found…nothing?
I picked the next door, and the next and the next.
Nothing. All empty. There was a chest of drawers.
I opened the first drawer and finally found underwear and socks, neatly laid out.
The next drawer, plain jeans, and beneath that, t-shirts and jumpers.
Pretty, but basic. I couldn’t help but notice the clothes were inexpensive as far as Alfie’s usual price tags went.
I dressed quickly in jeans and a pale blue t-shirt.
I was tying the laces on a pair of tennis shoes when I heard a strange scuffling on the other side of the door.
Was Alfie spying on me? I went to the door, turning the key quietly.
The scuffling continued and with a jerk I swung the door wide.
I screamed in surprise and the woman staring back at me returned the favour.
I screamed again and jumped back just as the older woman did the same thing. The tea tray she was holding flew out of her hands and I reached for it, scalding myself in the process.
“Oh fuck!” I hissed, frantically shaking boiling water off my hands.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! Wait right there.” The woman disappeared into my bathroom and returned a moment later with a hand cloth soaked in cold water. She wrapped my scalded hands. “Are you alright?”
“Sure. Third degree burns but I’m fine.” I tore my gaze from my stinging hands to take in this woman.
“Who are you?” She was in good shape, only a little plump around the middle.
Soft lines in her face showed her to be in her fifties maybe, her hair was a soft grey.
She wore a plain, button down dress and an easy look in her eyes.
In short, she was the last kind of person I expected to find wandering around Alfie Tell’s mansion.
“I’m Ada, the unofficial Lady of the House.
I suppose the official Lady of the House would be you now!
” She smiled wide, her smile only growing wider as she caught my stunned gaze.
Ada? Where did I know that name? “Oh, I'm sorry,” she laughed, a sweet, good-natured sound, “I didn’t mean to overstep myself. Come on, let's get you to the kitchen so I can take a proper look at those hands. I’ll deal with the mess later.”
An arm came around me and I had no choice but to walk with her. She peppered me with questions along the way. Had I slept alright? Was I hungry? How did I like my coffee? I tried to be polite, despite my confusion.
She took me through a series of back passages that I assumed were service stairways until I found myself in a sleek, industrial looking kitchen.
“Audacious, isn't it? It’s supposed to be used for serving dinner parties but in almost twelve years we’ve never had one.
So, I use it as my laboratory instead.” She grinned, and I could tell she wasn’t exaggerating.
There was evidence of experiments everywhere.
Various ingredients and kitchen appliances I couldn’t begin to name were neatly arranged on every surface.
I could tell Ada spent a lot of time here.
“Here, let's get your hands under some cold water.” She led me to a sink and I sighed as the water felt heavenly on my skin. She turned my hands over, checking the pinkened skin. “Good, it looks like you’re going to be just fine, I’ll just get the—” She cut off mid-turn and screamed again.
I spun to find Elliot standing on the other side of the island, watching us.
“Make some noise will you!” she scolded, throwing a dish towel at him, “You aren’t on some stealth mission in my kitchen.”
“Watch your tone, woman.” He gave her a heated look that she held and returned. All of a sudden I felt very uncomfortable, an intruder in an intimate moment. I was about to excuse myself when Elliot's gaze fell on my hands. “You’re hurt?”
Oh hell. I knew what would come next.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to—” But his phone was already in his hand. Great.
“I’m afraid I do.” No sooner had he sent the text than his phone started ringing. “Alfie?” Elliot listened and then handed the phone to me.
“Are you alright?” He sounded concerned.
“I’m fine, I just spilled some tea on my hand.”
“Do you need a doctor?”
“No, I?—”
“I’m going to have Elliot take you to my doctor just in case.”
I rolled my eyes, aware of two watchful gazes on me. “Alfie, I’m fine, stop being crazy. Where are you, anyway?”
“My office, on a conference call.” He’d interrupted a business call for this?
“Shouldn’t you get back to it?”
“They’ll wait. I apologise I wasn’t there to introduce you to Ada.
I presumed you’d still be asleep and I could introduce you later.
” Why would he care about introducing me to his housekeeper?
Then it clicked where I knew her name. His journals.
She’d been his nanny. I felt like I’d just uncovered a whole new layer of Alfie Tell.
It bothered me thinking about all those months we’d spent together, when I’d shared everything with him but he had kept so much about himself a secret.
“It’s alright,” I mumbled, not sure what else to say. Silence answered down the line. “So, can I go now or…?”
“Yes, of course. Elliot will drive you home when you’re ready.” We hung up and I found two pairs of eyes fixed on me. Ada had sidled her way around to Elliot’s side of the island, and I felt like I was under the watchful gaze of knowing parents. “So, you were Alfie’s nanny?”
“You said she was blunt.” Ada smiled up at Elliot before returning to me.
“Yes, I was his nanny, now I’m his housekeeper.
Now, breakfast?” Before I could answer, she set about making a fresh set of tea things.
Elliot took up a seat opposite me, his eyes fixed on Ada as she moved about the room. Were they an item?
“Is that how you two hooked up? By working for the Tells?”
“Hooked up?” Ada exclaimed, her eyes bright with amusement. She turned to Elliot. “Love, did you hear that? We’re hooking up!”
“I don’t know that I call having my ear bent for all these years ‘hooking up.’” He gave her a dry look that was somehow full of a deep love.
“You’ve loved every minute of it.” She gave him a warm smile before looking back at me.
“Yes, dear. That’s how we met.” She opened the oven and a familiar smell hit my nose.
A moment later, a fresh, warm blueberry muffin sat in front of me.
“I’ve been told it’s your favourite.” I took a bite.
It was delicious and somehow familiar. I bit my lip, suddenly homesick. “Something wrong?”
“No.” I cleared my face but she eyed me closely.